I’ve been thinking about what it takes to run a small business a lot lately. That’s because we’ve had a couple little hiccups, and we’ve had some major blessings. It all has my brain running a non-stop analysis of why we do what we do when it comes to running a photography business.

I didn’t become a professional photographer because I like cleaning camera lenses at least once a week. I didn’t become a professional photographer because I think it’s fun charging people’s credit cards. I didn’t become a professional photographer to have to file taxes monthly, as well as yearly. And I didn’t even become a photographer because it’s so glamorous. (Please note: There was a healthy dose of sarcasm in that last sentence.)

I did become a professional photographer because . . .

• Working in a creative field is an absolute must for me.
• I love people, and this is a job that has me interacting with new people — my clients, fellow wedding professionals, and other photographers — all the time.
• Setting my own (flexible!) schedule is very important to me.
• Whatever job I had, I knew I wanted to create something of truly lasting value.

These are the big upsides to having my own small business. There are the downsides too. But it’s so worth it.

It’s worth it because we get email from out clients (aka our friends) telling us how they cried happy tears when they saw their wedding photos. It’s worth it because I can take a week to go help at our church’s summer camp. It’s worth it because I get to put the right side of my brain to work creating beautiful things, and the left side of my brain to work running the actual business. It’s worth it because I love it, and I know I love it because I’m thinking about my job all the time.

Hard-but-worth-it is the perfect description for many of the very best things in life.

~ Laura